Hat Tip, gCaptain.
Tehran has suggested it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries’ oil exports in retaliation for U.S. sanctions intended to halt its sales of crude. Washington maintains a fleet in the Gulf that protects oil shipping routes.
Tangsiri said Iran had full control of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz that leads into it. Closing the strait would be the most direct way of blocking shipping.
"We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the U.S. and the countries whose home is not in here," he said in the quote, which appeared in English translation on Tasnim.
He added, "All the carriers and military and non-military ships will be controlled and there is full supervision over the Persian Gulf. Our presence in the region is physical and constant and night and day."
Separately, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Iran’s enemies would not prevail in a conflict.
"The enemies are strictly avoiding any conflict with Iran because they know that it will not be beneficial for them," Jafari said, according to Tasnim.
Tension between Iran and the United States has escalated since President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and reimposed sanctions.
Senior U.S. officials have said they aim to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most senior authority in the Islamic Republic, said last month that he supports the idea that if Iran is not allowed to export oil then no country should export oil from the Gulf. Well, maybe resolution of this issue will have a positive effect on the NORKS.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/27/2018
14:50 ||
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#1
How much do you wanna bet as soon as a couple aircraft carrier groups move into the region Iran declares victory and runs home?
Our oil doesn't need to get into the gulf; theirs needs to get out. Put a cork in the Straits of Hormuz, no Iranian oil gets out. See how long until they start whining.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2018 20:21
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#8
Iran may come to illustrate the old adage that "...any ship can serve as a minesweeper ..." ... ONCE.
[The Hill] President Trump said Monday the U.S. has reached an agreement with Mexico amid contentious talks on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Trump declared the name "NAFTA" would be scrapped for an updated North American agreement, saying it has "bad connotations."
"It’s a big day for trade. It’s a big day for our country," the president told reporters in the Oval Office, who were summoned to watch Trump speak by phone with outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Trump cast doubt on whether Canada would be party to a new trade agreement, saying, "We’ll see if Canada can be part of deal."
He said the two nations would begin talking "relatively soon."
The president said he plans to "terminate" the existing NAFTA agreement and move forward with the new emerging deal with Mexico.
If Canada is excluded, it would mark a major shift in U.S. trade policy, which has been guided by NAFTA for the past quarter century.
Trump would need Congress to approve the break-up of the three-nation agreement, a move that most on Capitol Hill would likely oppose.
A senior White House official said the administration plans to notify lawmakers of the U.S.-Mexico agreement, even if Canada is not yet on board.
"Ideally we'll have the Canadians involved," said the official. "If not, we will notify that we have a bilateral agreement and that Canada is welcome to join. We think that satisfies the requirements of the statute."
Trump said he wants to call the new deal the "United States-Mexico Trade Agreement," saying "I think's it's an elegant name."
#2
Obama didn't need Congress for his deL with Iran, and they have been at war with us for 40 years. And given the number of Mexican nationals in the US, is this really a foreign treaty?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2018 14:40
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[Politico] It might even keep the special counsel from sending a report to Congress, shaking Democrats’ hopes that such a document could provide the impetus for impeachment proceedings.
A little-noticed court case stemming from the apparent murder of a Columbia University professor six decades ago could keep special counsel Robert Mueller from publishing any information about the Trump campaign and Russia that he obtains through a Washington grand jury.
The substance of the case is entirely unrelated to Mueller’s investigation into whether any of President Donald Trump’s associates aided Russia’s efforts to intervene in the 2016 election.
But if a Washington appeals court set to hear the murder-related case next month sides with the Justice Department and rules that judges don’t have the freedom to release grand jury information that is usually kept secret, it could throw a monkey wrench into any plans Mueller has to issue a public report on his probe’s findings, lawyers following the issue said.
And it might even keep the special counsel from sending a report to Congress, shaking Democrats’ hopes that such a document could provide the impetus for impeachment proceedings against the president.
"It is a sleeper case," Harvard Law professor Alex Whiting said. "If the D.C. Circuit were to accept the Department of Justice’s arguments...that would have potentially enormous implications for the future of the information from the Mueller investigation. That could close out a path by which that information becomes public."
Open border advocates say that immigrants come here to do jobs Americans won’t do. Well, excuse me, but we have Americans all too willing to kill their brethren. Murder is a job American criminals are quite willing to do and to those who say immigrants commit crime at a lower rate than American citizens, I say that all that proves is that we have enough criminals -- we don’t need to import more.
The blood of Kate Steinle and Mollie Tibbetts and others is on the hands of open border advocates and the sanctuary city loons who provide no sanctuary for the American citizen victims of illegal alien criminals.
Even if it were true that illegal aliens commit crimes, including murder, at rates lower than American citizens, that would be irrelevant. The murder rate for illegal aliens should be zero because none of them should be here and the indisputable fact is that Jamiel Shaw Jr., Kate Steinle, and Mollie Tibbetts would be alive today if the illegal aliens who slew them were still staring at the other side of a border wall liberals refuse to build.
But it is not true and it is a myth perpetrated by those who want to promote the open borders agenda:
#2
crimes nationwide are underreported and crimes committed by illegal aliens are probably under reported even more than other crimes
this is because a lot of criminal activity committed by illegal aliens victimizes other illegal aliens or legal aliens who don't speak English well and thus are less likely to report crimes
I've pointed this out to the low information lefties who advocate for soft treatment for illegal immigrants and it usually gives them at least a few seconds of pause
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/27/2018 17:28
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[PJMedia] According to an Israeli TV news report, the Trump administration is preparing to formally reject the long-standing Palestinian demand of a "right to return" to lands lost since the 1948 war for Israel's independence. The administration will also change the U.S. position on Palestinian refugees.
Times of Israel:
According to the Hadashot TV report Saturday, the US in early September will set out its policy on the issue. It will produce a report that says there are actually only some half-a-million Palestinians who should be legitimately considered refugees, and make plain that it rejects the UN designation under which the millions of descendants of the original refugees are also considered refugees. The definition is the basis for the activities of UNRWA, the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
The US ‐ which on Friday announced that it had decided to cut more than $200 million in aid to the Palestinians ‐ and has also cut back its funding for UNRWA ‐ will also ask Israel to "reconsider" the mandate that Israel gives to UNRWA to operate in the West Bank. The goal of such a change, the TV report said, would be to prevent Arab nations from legitimately channeling aid to UNRWA in the West Bank.
Created in 1949 in the wake of the 1948 War of Independence, UNRWA operates schools and provides health care and other social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Hadashot said the new US position represented a further endorsement of Israel’s positions, months after the administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocated the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The Palestinians have been playing the long con with the "right of return" issue, which was always more of a fantasy than reality. They conned the UN for years about the number of "refugees," when in fact, the vast majority of Palestinians in refugee camps have no "right" to return to anything. Many were urged to leave by Arab leaders in 1948, others were abroad and never lived in Israel.
Tallying the number of individuals considered Palestinian refugees today is a matter of intense debate. UNRWA, classifies Palestinian refugees as those who left Israel in 1948; those who left the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967; those who were abroad but were subsequently not allowed to return to Israel; and all of their descendants. According to UNWRA, this totals five million Palestinian refugees. UNRWA’s statistics include those residing in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (Note: UNRWA’s policy of including the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who left in 1948 and 1967 into the refugee population for demographic and aid purposes is unique among refugee populations, and is not a done for any other refugee group.)
Israel believes the UNRWA statistics are exaggerated and further distinguishes "refugees" from "displaced persons" and from "expired permit Palestinians" who were abroad at the time the conflicts ensued and were not allowed to return.
This doesn't lessen the misery of Palestinians in those refugee camps, but whose fault is that? Arab nations refuse to grant Palestinians in the camps citizenship, preferring to pen them up in rancid conditions and treat them as non-people. The UNRWA facilitates the misery and the UN and international community are accessories to the crimes as the Palestinian people are under the delusion that a "right of return" will be part of any settlement with Israel.
The administration's change in policy will be a splash of cold water on Palestinian illusions and should cheer the Israelis. Long past time. They are little more than leeches and a cancer on the area.
[PARIS - Agence France-Presse] French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he would put forward new proposals for the European Union to boost its security, saying the bloc must stop depending on American might.
"Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security. It is up to us to guarantee European security," he said in a speech to relaunch his diplomatic agenda.
His proposals will be unveiled "in the coming months", Macron told an audience of some 250 diplomats, lawmakers and international relations experts gathered to mark the return from the summer break.
"I want us to launch an exhaustive review of our security with all Europe’s partners, which includes Russia," he added.
Macron’s comments came after a string of gestures from US President Donald Trump distancing himself from traditional NATO allies.
Trump has repeatedly called into question the Western alliance’s core commitment to mutual defence, while complaining that the US spends too much on military support for Europe.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/27/2018 11:19
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#3
Uh, yeah, o.k., Macron. I'm all for it, but I'll believe it when I see it. You fools are complaining about paying 2-3% of GNP to be part of the NATO gig, and you think sans the US it'll be any cheaper? GTFOH!
#6
The French have been saying that for the past 60+ years. Good luck with that. I mean it. Americans can use a vacation, say, for the remainder of this century.
#7
Remember, the French reaction to the Soviet bloc was to leave NATO and elect a socialist government. They rejoined NATO after the Soviets collapsed. Their "engagement" with the Russians will be to give them as much as they want, so long as it doesn't interfere with short work weeks, summer vacations, and French delusions of superiority.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2018 20:25
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[America Out Loud] Fifty percent of all of their murders were gang and drug related, with the predominate gang members being illegal aliens. I can only wonder how Silicon Valley dotcomer’s who are paying over half a million bucks for a home and commute over four hours a day to San Jose like living in that violent environment?
While the reasons for California’s ever-spiraling downwards status from 1st World economic prominence and prosperity to near 3rd World malaise are many; I will assert that when you combine uber-liberal politicians, with rich elitist Hollywood Celebrities, dotcom CEO’s billionaires, disengaged millennials and illegal aliens; you in effect create the circumstances where your city of state becomes a 3rd World environment.
The process of California’s demise from the "Golden State" to 3rd World status has been slow but steady; supported and enabled by the aforementioned actors. While much of the legislated changes for the worse have been designed and voted in by politicians in Sacramento; municipal politicians and a complicit uninformed, naive and entitled voting public must also share blame. After all, when 51% of those on some type of government subsidy out-vote the 49% of the money earning and tax paying citizenry, any state is doomed to failure. With California now a "Sanctuary State" and their libtard Democratic state legislature pushing for voting rights for illegal aliens, the state will never recover.
My observations during my short visit to Los Angeles underscored many of the problems Californians are facing as they follow like lemmings their Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, their Democratic legislators and urban mayors like Eric Garretti off the economic cliff.
Literally nothing substantive is good about L.A. An ever-growing homeless subculture populates the downtown area. The intoxicated, drug influenced, mentally impaired and criminal are everywhere. They literally surround Civic Center, federal buildings and courts ‐ the so-called foundations and protectors of the Rule of Law and society. How ironic to be surrounded by the failures these very systems, liberal politicians and judges have created. Isn’t karma interesting to watch in real time?
The homeless numbering in the thousands sleep in the shadows of immense, gleaming edifices owned by multi-billion dollar international conglomerates and dotcom corporations. Business executives in Brioni suits and workers quickly pass by the unwashed masses, while holding their noses to screen out the stench of urine and feces. The obvious health and safety hazards to the public are too many to count.
#1
There are two Californians and the movers and shakers in the ultra-wealthy bits seem willing to accept the growing poverty and crime in the remains of the state if that means they can be secure in their virtue blanket.
#4
Wild how fast things are going downhill there. I lived there until a decade ago and never thought twice about going for a run at 4 AM in San Jose or Santa Clara or walking alone at night in San Francisco.
#6
The intoxicated, drug influenced, mentally impaired and criminal are everywhere.
But enough about city hall.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2018 20:23
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#7
All California needs to cement its status as a third world economy is a couple of Islamic militias, a few dozen technical, a couple of dozen 14.5 AA guns and boom mobile or two...and I am not exaggerating.
[America Out Loud] Voters can clearly see the double standard here of the elite establishment "deep state" protecting its own (Hillary) but not us, the "deplorable’s."...
Impeachment, the word that cannot be spoken, at least by PoPo* Democrats, lest people should think them completely deranged, like Maxine Waters for example, continue their quest for the holy grail, the smoking gun as it were, that can be used to bring down Donald Trump.
Only in the "swamp" that is Wash DC, do the PoPo’s expect to generate so great a fear in his crimes that the electorate will voluntarily abandon that awful Donald Trump and return the government into PoPo hand’s so we "deplorable’s" can all bask happily in the sunlight of their socialist utopia like Cuba and Venezuela. Besides, Trump simply cannot remain President because, well, because he’s boorish, crude and "he’s not one of us."
The deranged Left, the media, politicians and the "Never Trump" Republicans alike, have thrown everything they could possibly think of to bring Trump to heel and nothing works. Now they have turned to Soviet style show trials by offering deals to once Trump confidents to "rat" him out by facing a choice of freedom, or imprisonment and ruin, on made up charges. Nowhere have any current potential "Rats" had anything to do with the alleged and unproven Collusion with Russia issue that was Mueller’s sole mandate, and Hillary’s fabricated creation.
From where does Mueller glean his authority to go beyond the Russian Collusion question? From what source is his power derived to subpoena the President of the United States? Because Bill Clinton agreed once agreed? He doesn’t of course and so the hysterical desperation over taking the PoPo’s now has them seeking crimes where they do not exist, on a man the electorate wants in there to finish the job of draining the swamp.
Muller is using tried and tested methods to squeeze witnesses into perjuring themselves for the benefit of Mueller’s bogus show trials, all to implicate Trump is any manner of crime. They are now focusing on alleged campaign finance violations and as long as the Left wing media continues their support of such ideas in screaming stories, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The deafening hysteria will continue, but, who’s listening anymore? Only themselves.
#3
Mueller - the Grand Inquisitor. Complete with torturing people to confess their sins by assaulting their reputation, their family, their livelihood.
He's worse than the Mafia which, at least, would not go after innocent family members. Not so the Grand Inquisitor - anything and everything, real or imaginary, is fair game.
Bearing False witness is just the beginning.
#5
Being placed in solitary? For a fraud loan and for claiming rental property was a domicile??? This is not hysteria, this is the left swinging axes at all Trumps friends. They need to be stopped.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/27/2018 17:52
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[SWI] Retirement provision is the leading concern for young people in Switzerland ahead of issues like foreigners and refugees, according to the 2018 Credit Suisse Youth Barometer.
A total of 53% of Swiss youth surveyed claimed they are worried about their pensions, compared to 41% last year. Immigration, which preoccupied almost half those surveyed last year, only registered as a concern among 29% surveyed this year.
Swiss youngsters are more optimistic when it came to the job market. Only 34% felt that their job would disappear due to the threat posed by digitisation compared to almost three out of four young people in US, Brazil and Singapore. The Swiss youth are also the exception when it comes the kind of jobs they preferred. While information technology is the most popular labour sector by far in other countries (US:75%, Brazil:72%, Singapore 75%) young people in Switzerland would rather work in education (56%), the media (53%), tourism (50%) or administration (47%). Only 43% of Swiss surveyed would choose an IT job.
Swiss youth are also the most prudent in money matters. They constituted the smallest share that felt their financial obligations were a burden and opted for the biggest savings amount.
[Guardian] Many businesses in Germany are still hoping the UK reverses its decision to leave the EU, according to a German industry chief who warned of the dangers of a no-deal Brexit.
"The risk of a hard Brexit is growing by the day," said Joachim Lang, head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), in a wide-ranging interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper. "Every business would do well to prepare for this worst-case scenario."
German businesseshad been unsettled by the British government’s recent warnings, he said. "What’s new is that the British government itself is now warning about the possibility of a hard Brexit It is carefully preparing its population for that [eventuality]."
The BDI ‐ which describes itself as "the voice of German industry" ‐ has set up a Brexit taskforce comprising more than 200 experts to assess the risks.
[Sputnik International] France is ready to conduct further airstrikes in Syria in response to Damascus' alleged use of chemical weapons, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday during his speech to French ambassadors.
At the same time, the French President noted the first results of the joint Russia-French mechanism on the Syrian settlement.
"The mechanism of coordination with Russia, created in St. Petersburg, has produced its first results, in particular in the humanitarian sphere," Macron told ambassadors in Paris, according to his official Twitter account.
#1
I'm sure ISIS freedom fighters will be more than happy to arrange some - however, Emmanuel (who's a man - or, at least, a male) remember Russian AA.
[American Spectator] The past few weeks have shown an alarming series of developments when it comes to the compatibility of today’s tech sector with a free society. The most controversial of these, no doubt, was the banning of Infowars and its flagship host Alex Jones from multiple social media platforms, all at once, a decision that even the ACLU raised alarm bells about, albeit belatedly. Since then, yet more worrying signs have cropped up ‐ in particular, the revelation that tech companies are planning a secret meeting on how to "counter manipulation of their platforms," i.e., to stop such manipulation by anyone who is not a Democrat.
The danger of such actions should be obvious to anyone concerned with ensuring a fair marketplace of ideas. Erratic and bizarre though Jones himself was, no one ever voted to allow tech companies to censor cranks. In fact, it is one of the cornerstones of American legal and political culture that cranks cannot be censored, period. Freedom of the press means freedom of William Randolph Hearst to make up lies that led to the Spanish American War, and of newspapers in the 1980s to spread the entirely fictitious Satanic Panic, just as much as it means freedom of Alex Jones to broadcast whatever nonsense he likes. When major corporations, including some press outlets themselves, arrogate to themselves the right to act as censors where the government cannot, no matter how unsympathetic the target, the world becomes that much less free and our institutions that much less trustworthy.
Still, at least the censorship of American political thought by tech companies is so ham-fisted as to be visible. But it is not merely the public discussion of politics that tech companies want to rig in their favor. It is also the method by which the spoils of political conflict are divided, including and especially government contracts.
The full extent of this is revealed in a recent bombshell article at Vanity Fair, normally reliable redoubt for Leftist causes, but in this case apparently too horrified to glance over the abuses involved. The story concerns a concerted campaign by Amazon and Jeff Bezos to try to literally rig the entire process by which the Department of Defense (DoD) transferred its data onto cloud computing servers.
[American Spectator] The Democrats and the media continue to demean the electorate.
In Reagan’s America: Innocents at Home, Garry Wills described the 40thPresident’s relationship with the voters as "a kind of complicity," implying that Reagan and the electorate had colluded to commit some sort of crime. The offense was, of course, their mutual refusal to imbibe the propaganda ladled out by the liberal establishment and the media. This defiance caused Reagan and his supporters to be written off by their "betters" as a collection of cretins. History proved precisely the opposite, but the Beltway brain trust never absorbed the lesson. They are thus repeating their error with President Trump and his supporters.
In the New York Times, for example, Charles Blow advises us that the President has hijacked the GOP and now presides over a reign of terror that prevents "mainstream Republicans" from taking a stand against him. Having difficulty remembering a Times writer acknowledging the existence of "mainstream Republicans?" The Gray Lady’s editorial position has long been that the GOP is a gang of dirty rotten scoundrels whose sole mission is to do down widows and orphans on behalf of rightwing robber barons and rabid racists. Blow would have us believe that, under Trump, the GOP base has further devolved into a national threat:
Republicanism is Trumpism, with no daylight between them. Traditional Republicans are now afraid to stand on principle because they do so at great peril of being drummed out of politics. The voters are now Trump’s noxious base, ergo Trump holds each of their fates in his hands.... Viewed that way, Trump’s base itself becomes the enemy of the Republic.
But the President’s base is "viewed that way" only by TDS victims. The Democrats are already losing support because of the #WalkAway movement. Meanwhile Trump’s "beastly base," as Blow also calls them, already consists of about 63 million voters and public opinion polls show that his support among crucial Democratic constituencies is increasing dramatically. If Blow had any sense, he would realize that insulting the customer isn’t an effective sales technique. He would hesitate to alienate any additional voters. But neither Blow nor his colleagues are rational. Last week another TDS victim, Dana Milbank, wrote the following:
#1
It's not that they don't know why, it's that they don't give a damn. I remember 1994 pretty clearly, when the GOP / Newt Gingrich took over the House, Peter Jennings described America as having thrown a temper tantrum. Same shit, different day.
[Aljazeera] Afghan officials said clashes broke out between drug smugglers and Tajik border guards before the attack.
Russia has said it was not behind an air attack in northern Afghanistan and its military aircraft has not been conducting any operations near Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan, the RIA news agency said citing the Russian Ministry of Defence.
On Monday, two Afghan government officials said a Tajik or Russian plane bombed the northeastern Durqad district of Takhar province in Afghanistan, during a clash between gunmen and Tajik border guards.
Afghan local media, quoting the provincial governor's spokesman Mohammad Jawed Hejri, said clashes broke out on Sunday afternoon between drug smugglers in Afghanistan and Tajik border guards.
ISTANBUL (AP) ‐ Relations between Turkey and Russia are cozy, prompting worries in the West of a potentially critical rift in the NATO alliance. But Turkey’s president may be engaged in a balancing act, tactically turning to Russia as ties with the United States further deteriorate over the detention of an American pastor.
President Donald Trump tweeted this month that U.S.-Turkey relations "are not good at this time!" and announced tariff hikes on the NATO ally, precipitating a nosedive in the Turkish currency. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on the phone with Russia’s Vladimir Putin that same afternoon, when they promised more cooperation in the areas of defense, energy and trade.
Switching partners is becoming a familiar dance for Turkey, which is strategically situated between Asia and Europe and often caught in the geopolitical push and pull of the turbulent Mideast region. Despite his country’s economic vulnerability, Erdogan seemed to be signaling that it had alternatives to the traditional alliances that date from its Cold War role as a regional bulwark against Soviet power.
In Turkey’s view, "the U.S. has become even more threatening than Russia" due to strains over critical issues, Sener Akturk, an associate professor of international relations at Koc University in Istanbul, said. The perceived threat makes the U.S. "an ally that has to be paradoxically kept at arm’s length and even balanced against with Russian cooperation."
Points of contention between the U.S. and Turkey include American military support for Kurdish fighters in Syria who are considered terrorists by Turkey; Turkish appeals to the U.S. to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric Turkey accuses of plotting a failed 2016 coup; and American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is being prosecuted in Turkey on terror-related charges.
A lever in Turkey’s diplomatic maneuvering is its pledge to buy a Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system, with deliveries starting next year. U.S. and NATO officials say the Russian system conflicts with NATO equipment and would lead to security breaches.
[PJ] Senator Jeff Flake hinted on "Meet the Press" that if Donald Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions, it would be the "first domino to fall." Flake speculated that the firing of Sessions would be followed by the firing of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and special counsel Robert Mueller.
Politico reports:
Trump’s feud with his own attorney general reached a new level over the past week as Sessions made a surprise effort to defend himself, releasing a statement saying that the Justice Department will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.
While some Republicans, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have started suggesting that Sessions will be gone after the midterm elections, Flake said Sunday that they’re in the minority.
"There may be a few isolated voices saying that the president ought to fire him now," Flake said. "I can tell you as a body we’re saying, ’Please don’t.’ He serves at the pleasure of the president. We all know that. But I think it would be a big mistake for the president to fire him now."
Trump may be well within his rights to fire Sessions, although the "optics" would be horrible. Firing an attorney general for not investigating the opposition at the president's request would be unprecedented. The real problem for Trump would be a loss of Republican support on the Hill. He's going to need all the GOP support he can get if the Democrats take control of the House and initiate impeachment proceedings.
Flake said that support from most Republican senators would drift away if he fires Sessions. But what are the chances of that happening? Once again, Trump is trolling, looking for ways to spread chaos and concern. Otherwise, we have to believe he is ignorant of how blatantly improper it is to suggest a partisan course of action for the Department of Justice.
[Al-Rooters] THE HAGUE - Iranian lawyers asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to order the United States to lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against Tehran. Hahahahahahaa ...NO
The presiding judge of the U.N. body informally known as the World Court began the hearing by calling on Washington to respect its outcome. During their decades of animosity, both the United States and Iran have ignored some rulings at the court.
The lawsuit filed with the ICJ says the U.S. sanctions, which are damaging the already weak Iranian economy, violate terms of a little-known friendship treaty between the two countries. I think they already did
"The U.S. is publicly propagating a policy intended to damage as severely as possible Iran's economy and Iranian national companies, and therefore inevitably Iranian nationals," said Mohsen Mohebi, representing Iran, at the start of four days of oral hearings. "This policy is plainly in violation of the 1955 Treaty of Amity."
He said Iran had sought a diplomatic solution to the countries' dispute but was rejected.
The United States said in an initial written reaction displayed in court that it believes the ICJ has no jurisdiction in the case, and that Iran's assertions fall outside the bounds of the treaty.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2018
07:05 ||
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[8 views]
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#1
It's at times like these I feel the warm glow of finally having a president with the balls to stand up to the UN and tell them to go fuck themselves.
Feels good man.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
08/27/2018 8:10
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#2
The presiding judge Cartman of the U.N. body informally known as the World Court began the hearing by calling on Washington to respect its outcome
"Respect mah authoritay!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2018 10:15
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#3
To paraphrase Andrew Jackson, "The UN Court has made its decision. Now let us see them enforce it."
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/27/2018 11:16
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#4
I would send the world court a note saying, "Eat a dick."
[Wash Examiner] The United Kingdom’s Labour Party, which produced six prime ministers over the last century, has effectively become a hate group. Whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is responsible for the transformation or whether it was the party that enabled the likes of Corbyn is immaterial. Labour today promotes hatred not only in Britain but also gives hatred solace on the world stage.
In 1975, British journalist and writer Gerald Seymour coined the phrase, "One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter," in his novel Harry’s Game, set during the height of the British conflict with the Irish Republican Army. A generation of statesmen has seized upon the phrase to justify moral equivalence. But Corbyn goes beyond that: In the most recent scandal to surround the British Labour leader and possible future prime minister, photos emerged proving that Corbyn had laid a wreath at a monument for the terrorists who tortured and murdered much of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1973 Olympics.
The nightmare for political aides on both sides of the Atlantic is that a photo will emerge with their boss shaking hands with a criminal or charlatan who somehow made it past the rope lines and then uses that photograph to imply legitimacy. In most cases, the resulting photo might be worth a day’s headline, but are quickly forgotten. Here, too, Corbyn is different. He associated with a Holocaust denial group ‐ not just once, but for an entire decade. He has won praise not only from the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but also from the Ku Klux Klan.
While the Palestinian cause and the quest for a two-state solution has attracted a broad array of activists over the years, Corbyn joined its genocidal fringe, embracing Hamas, a group which seeks not only the eradication of Israel but the murder of Jews worldwide.
[Reuters] - A U.S. federal judge on Saturday rejected key elements of President Donald Trump’s May executive orders that would make it easier to fire federal employees and reduce their ability to bargain collectively.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said in a court order that Trump’s orders, which also would reduce the amount of time low-performing employees had to improve their performance before being fired, "undermine federal employees’ right to bargain collectively."
Trump signed three executive orders in May that administration officials said would give government agencies greater ability to remove employees with "poor" performance, obtain "better deals" in union contracts and require federal employees with union responsibilities to spend less time on union work.
The directives drew immediate criticism from the American Federation of Government Employees, which said the moves would hurt veterans, law enforcement officers and others.
Jackson ruled that while the president has the authority to issue executive orders relating to federal labor relations, the orders cannot "eviscerate the right to bargain collectively" as envisioned in a long-standing federal statute.
"The President must be deemed to have exceeded his authority in issuing (the orders)," Jackson ruled.
#7
Kennedy created the right to collective bargaining by exec order, Trump should be able to revoke. Since Federal district courts were created by Congress, this seems like court overstepping separation of powers. Hope it goes to Supreme Court and shuts down these judicial deep staters.
[Washington Examiner] House lawmakers interviewed an FBI official on Friday, part of an ongoing congressional investigation into the bureau's probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
A congressional source confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the Judiciary and Oversight Committees met privately with FBI official Jonathan Moffa at the end of the week -- the latest in a line of interviews conducted by the joint task force looking into the FBI's controversial handling of the inquiry into the former secretary of state's unauthorized server.
Moffa was mentioned in an April letter sent to Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who took note of emails from February 2016 that suggested Justice Department coordination with the FBI before ex-FBI Director James Comey publicly recommend in July that no charges be brought against Clinton, who was then a candidate for president.
In the letter, first reported by Fox News, Meadows pointed to emails found on Clinton's server with "Top Secret" information that indicated Comey may have misled Congress when he testified that there was no DOJ-FBI coordination at "crucial moments of the investigation." One of those emails from an unidentified senior Justice Department official sent to Peter Strzok, the former FBI official who led the Clinton probe and was recently fired for his anti-Trump texting; Moffa, an official in the FBI’s criminal division and the bureau's Office of General Counsel; and members of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, discussed being "kept in the loop as [a] response is drafted."
The Judiciary-Oversight joint task force also reportedly set up interviews with at least three other FBI officials earlier this summer, including with Bill Priestap, the assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, and Michael Steinbach, the former head of the FBI’s national security division, and John Giacalone, who preceded Steinbach.
Before the interview with Moffa, at least one Democrat -- Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee -- complained on MSNBC about the GOP focus on the Clinton emails versus the the "alarming" conduct by President Trump and the people around him at a time when Trump's longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen, facing accusations of bank fraud, pleaded guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance violations and in doing so implicated the president.
[PJ] Why do people who know absolutely nothing about politics continue to pontificate about politics?
Former CIA Director John Brennan disobeyed one of Mark Twain's most famous dictums on "Real Time with Bill Maher": "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
The Hill:
Former CIA Director John Brennan issued one of his most stern rebukes yet of President Trump on Friday night, arguing that the political climate in the country is likely to get worse under his tenure.
"Fundamentally, though, what he’s doing to this country, he’s dividing us ... He’s dividing Americans," Brennan said of the president during an appearance on HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher."
"So I’m really concerned that as he continues to play to his base, he’s further dividing us, and I’m really concerned about whether this could spill over into the streets," he said.
He's "really concerned," just as most people who don't know anything about politics are. It's interesting that he mentioned violence in the streets on this, the 50th anniversary of the "Days of Rage" that blew up the Democratic convention in 1968. That convention and the violence that surrounded it defined the New Left and that generation of activists.
So could it really happen today? Those were entirely different times. America was a different country, young people were different, and the issues were a matter of life and death for many.
#5
I'd love to see him challenged on what Trump is doing to "divide us" versus what he and the rest of the lunatic Never Trump brigade are doing. I've never heard a divisive word from Trump -- derisive, sure, towards individuals who deserve it.
Brennan and the like, though, are working to overturn the votes of millions. That's divisive. That's courting violence.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2018 7:13
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#9
The old commie is just upset that antifa has turned out to be such a wet noodle. He probably expected legions of hard core commie toughs instead of coffee shop intellectuals playing tough.
#13
Brennan is blowing the dog whistle for the junkyard dogs to come to the fight. He's outed himself--send in the dog catchers and haul them all to the Caribbean pound.
#14
Okay, there are now noises that the FBI has listened to Trump's phone calls for over 20 years. This brings up a Nanny State fear of mine that seemed reasonable to me with some events in my life about 20 years ago. What if the Deep State is spying on all money players, all inventors all business for Competitive Advantage, IP (Intellectual Property) profit and control of the economy by Deep State players. Consider the $400,000,000 in the Clinton Foundation or the millions that even among minor players many leave low paying government service with. Can we say much worse than just one person corruption?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/27/2018 15:58
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#18
He is shaping the narrative for civil war. He is running a CIA type operation in America. I have seen how this works in other countries. This action is frightening.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/27/2018 17:24
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#19
He is shaping the narrative for civil war. He is running a CIA type operation in America. I have seen how this works in other countries.
EXACTLY correct! Obama and the Hildebeest were Brennan and his cohorts chosen puppets. I doubt the evil of this man has yet to be fully revealed.
#20
If they've tapped Trump's phones for 20 years, he must be the most honest man in America, because they've never found anything.
Remember, New York has likely audited most of his tax returns. He's been a target for THEM all his life. They've not only never found anything, but not even found enough for blackmail.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2018 19:50
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#21
And that is probably why they hate him so much. Nothing to blackmail. Stormy was their last, best, hope...
[THE LOCAL se] Barring a major upset, Sweden's far-right is on course for a record result in September 9 legislative elections, capitalising on the mood of voters who feel they are being left behind in favour of hundreds of thousands of newly-arrived asylum seekers.
With two weeks to go to the election, opinion polls suggest the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD) could sweep around 20 percent of votes, making them the second- or third-biggest party.
That could give SD -- an offshoot of the neo-Nazi movement but now clamouring for political legitimacy -- significant influence over Swedish politics.
SD has said it is willing to collaborate with either the left or right, as long as it can shape the country's immigration policy.
However, it will have a hard time wielding any newfound clout. While some parties on the right-wing have occasionally appeared tempted to court the SD for informal support to pass legislation in parliament, none of them seems ready to forge a more formal collaboration with a party still seen as pariahs by a large majority of Swedes.
The far-right first entered parliament in 2010, garnering 5.7 percent of votes cast. Four years later, they more than doubled their score, taking 12.9 percent of votes and 42 of the 349 seats in the 2014 election.
#1
Maybe some of the more mainstream parties should copy their rather obvious policies.
Subsidising migration at the expense of Swedes and the destruction of Sweden is not a vote winner, it will make the globalist establishment VERY VERY rich though until they pick somewhere else to locust upon.
[DAWN] Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Sunday rejected a media report claiming that the armed forces had assured protesters in North Wazoo tribal district that the army personnel responsible for the alleged killing of a man would be court-martialed.
On Friday, during the protest against the arrests made in connection with a remote-controlled kaboom a day earlier, security forced had allegedly opened fire, killing one and injuring 10 others.
The death had sparked a sit-in in Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... , which, according to newly elected MNA from North Waziristan Mohsin Dawar, was called off after their demands were accepted.
According to VOA (Voice of America) DEEWA, one of the demands of the protesters was to court martial "Captain Zarar, who allegedly killed a boy during a protest".
However, ars longa, vita brevis... the DG ISPR contested that claim on Twitter hours later, saying that "while an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain facts, no assurance given for any court martial."
Maj Gen Ghafoor denied that the forces had killed or injured anyone, and accused the media outlet of keeping up "its tradition of false reporting.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[DAWN] Iran's parliament impeached Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday in the latest blow to embattled President Hassan Rouhani as he struggles to face down a mounting economic crisis.
Karbasian is the second cabinet minister to be sacked this month, following the impeachment of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei on August 8.
Critics say the government squandered the opportunities presented by the 2015 nuclear deal and have failed to tackle high rates of inflation and joblessness.
With the United States abandoning the nuclear deal in May and reimposing sanctions, Rouhani's hopes of attracting vast sums of foreign investment appear dead in the water.
Major European firms, including La Belle France's Total, Peugeot and Renault, and Germany's Siemens and Daimler, have all announced their departure since the US announcement.
Rouhani's conservative opponents ‐ who long-opposed his outreach to the West and efforts to improve civil liberties ‐ say the primary blame lies with government corruption and mismanagement.
"Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions," said one politician, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote.
"Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
I wonder how much Allan had to do with their decision making along the way.
#2
Iran is now about 30% under the control of the mullahs and about 40% under the control of the Republican Guard. About another 10% is in the hands of tribal leaders or criminal gangs. This leaves Rouhani with not much to work with even if he wanted to and knew how.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/27/2018 10:07
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#3
I assume the Dems are studying this for future Trump impeachment.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/27/2018 10:46
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#4
Starting a war to wag the dog seems on the horizon?
[ALMASDARNEWS] Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels said they had attacked a meeting for Saudi-backed forces in central Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... with armed drones, killing and injuring several.
The meeting was being held in Jraibat district of Bayda region when the facility came under attack by armed drones.
A Houthi source stated that the attack came after a series of surveillance tasks which allowed the Houthis to figure out the exact location of the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Six Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... bandidosgunnies were captured alive by the Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria as battles cooled down recently between the two warring parties.
The captured jihadists, all of Iraqi nationality, were hiding in a farm somewhere in southern Hasakah countryside after fleeing the battles in Iraq last year.
This occurred as the Kurdish fighters were carrying out a mop-up operation in the area whereby the group was tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! , its weapons seized.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Israel’s defense minister has announced he will reopen the country’s main personnel crossing with the Gazoo Strip following a week of relative calm along the border.
Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday that after consultation with the country’s security agencies, he ordered the opening of the Erez border crossing on Monday.
The decision to reopen the crossing comes amid efforts by Egypt to mediate a possible ceasefire between Gazoo’s Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", rulers and Israel following weeks of intense violence at the border.
The sides have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks, as Death Eaters have fired rockets at Israel, which responded with Arclight airstrikes.
Hamas, which rules the Gazoo Strip and doesn’t recognize Israel, seeks an easing of the decade-long, crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the Paleostinian territory in exchange for a lasting truce.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Those who thought that President Trump was not serious when he threatened to pullout of the Iran nuclear deal have been surprised by the consistent moves by the present US Administration to confront Tehran over its errant behavior.
This is the opinion of Republican Ted Budd, who is a member of the US House of Representatives from North Carolina. Budd also serves on the Financial Services Committee and its Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee.
Ted Budd represents North Carolina's 13th Congressional District and is serving his first term in the 115th United States Congress.
In an Opinion piece on Fox News website, Budd has written on the that the Trump administration "deserves credit" for pilling out of the disastrous deal, and according to him, "It is clear that Iran is promoting the expansion of military and terrorist activities across the Middle East."
In this context, Budd goes on "to examine the actions of the Iranian government on several fronts".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
While Trump is honoring NcSchtain's wishes to "not attend his funeral" the president should sign an executive order removing US forces from every place McSchtain advocated for being involved in.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/27/2018 7:18
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from Al_Guardian
The crash of the Turkish lira last week after two years of steady decline spooked global markets ‐ but anyone looking at Istanbul’s skyline would have been far from surprised. Everywhere you look in the city, evidence of a debt-fuelled construction boom abounds: new skyscrapers frame the horizon, huge shopping malls dot the streets and among several megaprojects is a new airport, set to be the world's largest. Turkey is also heavily reliant on imports for construction materials: it is the world's ninth largest importer of steel, paying $8bn in 2016, a figure that rose to $9bn in 2017 as the lira began to fall.
That makes the Turkish economy's dependence on the construction sector for growth particularly dangerous. In the third quarter of 2017, construction made up 18.7% of the economy. This over-reliance on an industry that is so sensitive to global downturns has long been criticized by Turkish economists. I personally had, in 2009, expected the Turkish economy to crash by 2014 but I didn't have the insight that Turkey's businesses could fool so many western banks into lending them money.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/27/2018
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#1
Spot on, Lord Garth - borrow shitloads of $ to build skyscrapers and malls - brilliant!
[DAWN] Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) police on Sunday claimed to have foiled a terror bid targeting a girls' school in Ghizer district and placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! 13 suspected terrorists.
According to Deputy Inspector General Gohar Nafees, all the arrested suspects are students of a local seminary run by a local named Inayatullah.
He said that police had also recovered kaboom and petrol during their raid on the seminary late on Saturday night, adding that the plot to target the school and college was hatched at the seminary.
He claimed that the suspects were planning to blow up the school ─ which is part of the Agha Khan Schools network ─ using bombs on Saturday night. Ahsanullah who was heading the 'terrorist group' has been arrested, the DIG said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[Al Jazeera] A senior Vatican official called on Pope Francis to resign, accusing the pontiff of failing to act sooner on sexual abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
In an 11-page statement, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said sanctions imposed on McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI over sexual misconduct were lifted under Francis, despite reports about his "gravely immoral behaviour with seminarians and priests".
Vigano said he informed Francis in person in 2013 of the sanctions and how McCarrick, ex-archbishop of Washington, DC, "corrupted generations of seminarians and priests".
Pope Francis "continued to cover" for McCarrick despite the sanctions and even made him "his trusted counsellor", Vigano alleged.
"In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal church, he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example for cardinals and bishops who covered up McCarrick's abuses and resign along with all of them," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
Good idea.
At least I get a new Pope out of it, preferably a no leftist.
[DAWN] After failing to get any result during the previous government, tobacco control advocates are hopeful that the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan will not only take steps to increase revenue collection from the tobacco industry but will also protect the citizens against hazards of smoking.
At present, the country is facing an annual loss of around Rs30 billion due to low taxes on the tobacco industry while health of the youth is at a stake.
“Imran Khan and Finance Minister Asad Umar had on a number of occasions assured us that they would support our efforts to save the health of the youth because Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) speaks more about the youth. The previous government announced to enhance the size of the pictorial health warning from 40pc to 85pc of the cigarette packet in 2014 but the promise was never fulfilled.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Late senator John McCain will lie in state at the US Capitol in Washington on Friday, followed by a memorial service at the National Cathedral before being laid to rest at the US Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis on September 2, his office said.
Ahead of the national ceremonies, McCain will lie in state at the Arizona State Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and a memorial service will take place at the North Phoenix Baptist Church.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
Wonder if Sarah Palin will be invited to the funeral. Nothing on her website or twitter.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/27/2018 0:26
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#2
a memorial service will take place at the North Phoenix Baptist Church.
The National Parks Service and CNN will announce that approximately 5 times more people than Trump's inauguration attended...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/27/2018 1:10
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#3
This will Trump a week to catch a breather and ketchup on his golf.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/27/2018 7:18
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#7
Listening to the main stream media fawn over John McCain in death you would of thought they supported him over the unpatriotic and America last presidential candidate Obama.
#12
The ♫ Beatification ♫ of McCain continues ... all channels , at full volume, at this rate I am surprised no one has floated the idea of a crystal coffin in the Senate Rotunda so future generations can queue up for a look at this "saintly politician"...
There were F-5A through F5F delivered to Iran in the 70s
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/27/2018 18:56
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#14
That may have been the cause ....
In a cargo plane, there is room to lay out a prayer mat. But in a cramped fighter, you have to cut holes in the mat for the rudder pedals. Sometimes things get a bit tangled up...
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Army is sending more reinforcements to Idlib in order to beef up the forces preparing to attack jihadi groups in northwestern Syria.
Yesterday, a convoy of at least 8 caged tanks and dozens of technical vehicles for the 4th Armored Division was spotted leaving the Syrian capital to Idlib.
The convoy is part of wider reinforcements being sent on a daily basis by the Syrian Army to take part in Idlib offensive.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The police forces in Kabul have jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! a man and confiscated at least four hundred fake National Identity Cards (Tazkiras) which were being smuggled to the capital with the intent to use during the upcoming elections.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) in a statement the suspect was arrested during a search operation from the vicinity of Pul Charkhi of Kabul.
The statement further added that the suspect was looking to smuggle the fake National Identity Cards from Kapisa to Kabul.
No further details have been given in this regard but the Ministry of Interior added that an investigation is underway from the detained suspect.
This comes as the officials in the Attorney General’s Office had earlier said at least 85 people have been arrested from various parts of the country for forging National Identity Cards.
The officials, political parties, and candidates have also expressed concerns regarding the use of fake National Identity Cards during the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections.
However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... the Independent Election Commission had earlier said that stickers have pasted to the original national identity cards of the voters to prevent fraud during the elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
Under apple pie hat or burnoose,
Blank identity cards! His excuse?
In a sibilant hiss
He was heard to insist,
"These is just for my personal use!"
[Al Jazeera] Italia's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is under investigation by a Sicilian prosecutor for refusing to allow more than 150 migrants colonists and refugees to enter Italia.
Salvini, who is also Italia's interior minister, is being investigated for abuse of office, kidnapping and illegal arrest, after forcing refugees to stay on a ship at the Sicilian port of Catania for almost a week.
Salvini blocked them from disembarking the Diciotti in the absence of an agreement from other European member states to share the responsibility of relocation.
Following the news of the investigation, Italian authorities allowed people to get off the ship, hours after Saturday's decision to let 16 people off who were unwell.
Salvini, leader of the far-right anti-migration League party, responded to the investigation into his conduct on his Facebook page.
"The prosecutor of Agrigento wants my information? Don't waste your time, I'll give it to you. Matteo Salvini, born in Milan on 9/3/1973, resident in Milan with Italian citizenship," he said.
"I'm proud to be questioned and locked away Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! if for defending and securing the borders of our country."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[Al Jazeera] Ottoman Turkish police have nabbed Book 'im, Mahmoud! two more people for their suspected links to Monday's drive-by shooting on the United States embassy in capital Ankara, Anadolu Agency reports, in an attack coinciding with increased tensions between the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... allies.
Friday's arrests raise the total number of arrested suspects to four and they are being interrogated by police, the agency reported on Sunday citing a police source.
The detention period for Ahmet Celikten and Osman Gundas, the suspects arrested on Monday, was extended, it added.
Celikten and Gundas confessed to their involvement in the attack, the governor's office in Ankara said.
NO CASUALITIES
Assailants had fired six rounds at the embassy's security gate from a passing white vehicle at about 5am local time (02:00 GMT), with three bullets hitting an iron door and a window, the office said. There were no casualties.
The Ottoman Turkish police said the suspects were drunk at the time of the attack.
The embassy was closed for a public holiday to mark the Eid al-Adha festival, when the incident happened.
The attack coincided with a deepening row between Ankara and Washington over the trial of a US pastor held in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... Ties have been severely strained over the case of Andrew Brunson, leading the US to impose sanctions and increase tariffs that sent the Ottoman Turkish lira tumbling last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Rebel fighters who had reconciled with the Syrian government are joining the Syrian Forces heading to Idlib to fight jihadi groups.
Up to 500 former rebels from Inkhil, Nawa and Herak towns of Daraa became recruits in the Syrian Army’s 5th Corps, and recently arrived at Hama in bid to join efforts with other Army units in launching a full-scale offensive against jihadi krazed killers.
Earlier, scores of former anti-government fighters participated along with the government troops in fight against ISIS in Yarmouk Basin region, west of Daraa.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A base for the Saudi Army in Nijran region was hit by a missile (type Badr-1) fired by Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebel fighters, killing and injuring several as well as causing material damage.
Meanwhile in the mountainous area in southern Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , a Houthi sniper managed to rubbed out 6 Saudi soldiers before he could safely retreats.
In a related context, positions for the Saudi Army in Nijran and Assir were heavily targeted by Houthi artillery and short-range missiles.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[Al Jazeera] Iranian FM says the US was targeting Iran and its business partners but Washington would not achieve its goals. The day's emission of vitriol.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
Zarif accuses US of waging 'psychological war' against Iran
[Al Jazeera] Nearly three million Syrians living in the northwestern province of Idlib are bracing for a possible government assault, which neighbouring The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire.... has warned would result in a large-scale humanitarian disaster.
Idlib is the last remaining opposition stronghold in the country. It is home to about three million people, half of whom are internally displaced.
If the forces loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... press ahead with an offensive, observers say as many as 2.5 million Syrians could try to flee to the shuttered Ottoman Turkish border, creating a new refugee crisis.
On Friday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned against the possible assault, while offering to work with Syria's ally, Russia, to pursue a ceasefire in the area and prevent a mass exodus.
Many in Idlib are already preparing themselves for the worst case scenario.
"We won't leave our nation alone again, we will defend our people until the last breath," Ahmad Ghajar, an Idlib resident, told Al Jazeera.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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[DAWN] A teenage student was killed and a passer-by maimed in crossfire between police and drug peddlers in Afghan Camp, also known as Kochi Camp, near Superhighway on Saturday morning, officials and witnesses said.
The incident sparked a protest by area people who staged a sit-in on Superhighway, now called M-9 Motorway, along with the coffin of the student for a considerable period of time, causing a traffic mess on the busy highway that links the city with the rest of the country.
The police said that a heavy contingent of law enforcers raided Khilji Goth near Kochi Camp, where Afghan refugees have been living since long, in an operation to flush out drug peddlers.
On seeing the police, the suspects resorted to firing and the law enforcers returned fire.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Al Jazeera] Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who has been held in Tehran for more than two years on sedition charges, has returned to prison after a temporary three-day release.
The move on Sunday dashed her family's hopes that Iranian officials were clearing the way for the dual national to return to her residence in the UK, where her husband has been working for her release.
"We have just heard the sad news that Nazanin's extension has been refused and she has returned to prison," read a tweet on the official "Free Nazanin" Twitter account.
"Here is the moment she said goodbye to a distraught Gabriella," it added, along with a picture of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her four-year-old daughter, Gabriella.
Speaking of separating from her daughter, Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: "I couldn't bear her tears. Nothing is worse than her tears. I cannot forget her face", according to the Twitter account.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
Natasha can't do two-dimensional:
"Don't fence me in, dude! Too conventional."
The dumbstruck conformance
That greets her performance,
"Un-painting with doo-doo?" Intentional!
#5
Similar appearance to Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook. With all the silly con valley talk about what AI is going to do to improve the world why can't it detect creeps like this jacked into the net day and night?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/27/2018 9:39
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The Jacksonville shooter rants against Trump on reddit. He won $400,000 the prior year playing Madden football at other venues. This shooter has proven to be the perfect Democrat in the Hillary sense as he is a mean sore loser. Many victims said he was trying to shoot the game playing thumbs off of players before killing them.
#12
$400k, didn't realize how lucrative the gaming business had become.
Know a person who gave up video games, especially the shooters, and will log onto one of the gaming sites and just watch the pros play. Also, video game hockey was on TV post-Stanley cup games. So there is the advertising and endorsement money out there too.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Ottoman Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Sunday to bring peace and safety to Iraq and areas in Syria not under Ottoman Turkish control and said terrorist organizations in those areas would be eliminated.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire.... , which has backed some rebel groups in Syria, has been working with Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al Assad, and Iran for a political resolution to the crisis.
It has so far carried out two cross-border operations along its border with Syria and set up a dozen military observations posts in the northern Syrian region of Idlib.
The rebel-held Idlib enclave is a refuge for civilians and rebels displaced from other areas of Syria as well as for powerful jihadist forces, but has been hit by a wave of air strikes and shelling this month.
The attacks posed a possible prelude to a full-scale Syrian government offensive, which Turkey has said would be disastrous.
Speaking in the southeastern province of Mus to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert of 1071, Erdogan vowed to bring peace and safety to Syria and Iraq.
"It is not for nothing that the only places in Syria where security and peace have been established are under Turkey's control. God willing, we will establish the same peace in other parts of Syria too. God willing, we will bring the same peace to Iraq, where terrorist organizations are active," he said.
Erdogan also linked regional conflicts and an ongoing currency crisis in Turkey, which he has cast as an "economic war", to previous attempts to invade Anatolia, warning that the this would lead to the collapse of surrounding regions.
"Those who seek temporary reasons behind the troubles we have been facing recently are wrong, very wrong. The attacks we face today... are rooted in history," he said.
"Don't forget, Anatolia is a wall and if this wall collapses, there will no longer be a Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Balkans or Caucasus."
Turkey's lira has tumbled nearly 40 percent this year as investor concerns over Erdogan's grip on monetary policy and a growing dispute with the United States put pressure on the currency.
Ankara has accused Washington of targeting Turkey over the fate of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor being tried in Turkey on terrorism charges that he denies.
"Some careless people among us think this is about Tayyip Erdogan or the AK Party. No, this is about Turkey," Erdogan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
battle of Manzikert was between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Kingdom. The Seljuks won that one. It took about 30 years for the Byzantines to recover from that defeat.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/27/2018 0:26
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#2
"Some careless people among us think this is about Tayyip Erdogan or the AK Party. No, this is about Turkey," Erdogan said.
Not so careless people are pretty sure it's all about you, Gollum.
[Al Jazeera] The leader of ISIS in Afghanistan was killed in air strikes in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province, the fourth head of the gang to die since it emerged in the country in recent years.
Abu Saad Erhabi and 10 other Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS) members died in a joint operation with coalition forces on Saturday night, the National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... said in a statement on Sunday.
"The emir of ISIS in Afghanistan - along with 10 others - was killed," it said, using the gang's Arabic acronym.
The air attacks on a village in Khugyani district, near the border with Pakistain, also destroyed a large number of weapons, explosives, and ammunition, the agency said.
The provincial governor's front man Attaullah Khogyani confirmed Erhabi's death.
US forces in Afghanistan said they conducted an air raid in the location described by Afghan officials, which "targeted a big shot of a designated terrorist organization".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2018
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#1
"Next!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2018 7:37
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[DAWN] Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Saturday appointed PML-N's Raja Zafarul Haq leader of the opposition in the Upper House, according to a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat.
Haq replaced PPP Senator Sherry Rehman with effect from Aug 24, according to the notification. Haq, who previously served as leader of the house, was replaced by Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... Senator Shibli Faraz on Aug 24.
Haq had been a contender for the election of Senate chairman against Sadiq Sanjrani earlier this year but lost by 11 votes. Old Raja's come a long way from his days doing porno on eight millimeter wearing nothing but a mask and garters on his socks.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Infogalactic] The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican forces and elements of US Army troops of the 35th Infantry Regiment, who were reinforced by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and commanded by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Herman. The American soldiers and militia forces were stationed in Nogales, Arizona, and the Mexican soldiers and armed Mexican militia were in Nogales, Sonora.[2] This battle was notable for being a significant confrontation between US and Mexican forces during the Border War which took place in the context of the Mexican Revolution and the First World War.
This occurred after the Zimmermann telegram during World War I, when the international border between the two Nogaleses was a wide-open boulevard named International Street. Imperial German may or may not have been involved, but in any case, border problems with Mexico are nothing new.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The campaign led by Hezbollah in Leb to normalize relations with Bashir al-Assad’s regime goes beyond the traditional political acrimony in the country.
It’s a new moment of the bitter moments of confrontation against "the curse of geography." So how is it when Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has declared two triumphs: the victory of Leb in 2006, which he celebrated again, and victory in Syria, which he linked to the first, in a single speech?
There is a fait accompli in Syria in which the headline is that Assad has won. It is true that the victory came at the price of the destruction of nearly half of the country’s buildings and the immigration or internal displacement of more than 13 million people within and outside the country, with too many lives lost or maimed, but it’s still victory according to the standards of Assad and his allies.
Continued on Page 49
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[Al Jazeera] A mass shooting at a video game tournament has led to "multiple fatalities" in the US state of Florida, according to police.
The shooting took place on Sunday at a waterfront dining, entertainment and shopping site in downtown Jacksonville, according to local media. Citing police sources, reports said four people were killed and at least 10 maimed.
"We have deceased victims at the scene. We also have injured people at the hospital. We will release counts later on," said Sheriff Mike Williams at a brief presser, describing the dead suspect as a white male who had yet to be identified.
"We have no outstanding suspects at this time, the scene is secure, and we will follow up in a couple of hours."
The attack took place during the Madden 19 online game tournament at the GLHF Game Bar, according to the venue's website.
The video game tournament was being streamed online from the restaurant. Players can be seen reacting to the gunfire and cries can be heard before the footage cuts off.
"SWAT is doing a methodical search inside... We will get to you. Please don't come running out," the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office earlier said on Twitter.
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[DAWN] Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) has announced that it will begin a "decisive march" from Lahore to Islamabad on Wednesday, and will "stay on the streets until either the publication of blasphemous cartoons in the Netherlands end or the govt immediately ends diplomatic ties with the Dutch". Wouldn't it make more sense to march to Amsterdam? Wildly indignant, as you'd expect, over an announcement by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders to hold a competition of blasphemous caricatures, the TLP held a meeting in Lahore on Sunday and came up with its line of action and demands.
The religiopolitical party urged the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) government to not only "discontinue diplomatic and commercial relations with the Netherlands" but also "demand from other Islamic countries to do the same".
The TLP also demands that since the said competition's judge is an American national, "therefore, strict measures should also be taken against the US".
Posted by: Fred ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Politico] It might even keep the special counsel from sending a report to Congress, shaking Democrats’ hopes that such a document could provide the impetus for impeachment proceedings.
[PJMedia] According to an Israeli TV news report, the Trump administration is preparing to formally reject the long-standing Palestinian demand of a "right to return" to lands lost since the 1948 war for Israel's independence. The administration will also change the U.S. position on Palestinian refugees.
[Wash Examiner] The United Kingdom’s Labour Party, which produced six prime ministers over the last century, has effectively become a hate group. Whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is responsible for the transformation or whether it was the party that enabled the likes of Corbyn is immaterial. Labour today promotes hatred not only in Britain but also gives hatred solace on the world stage.
[Reuters] - A U.S. federal judge on Saturday rejected key elements of President Donald Trump’s May executive orders that would make it easier to fire federal employees and reduce their ability to bargain collectively.
Wazoo
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
[Al Jazeera] A senior Vatican official called on Pope Francis to resign, accusing the pontiff of failing to act sooner on sexual abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
[DAWN] After failing to get any result during the previous government, tobacco control advocates are hopeful that the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan will not only take steps to increase revenue collection from the tobacco industry but will also protect the citizens against hazards of smoking.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Late senator John McCain will lie in state at the US Capitol in Washington on Friday, followed by a memorial service at the National Cathedral before being laid to rest at the US Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis on September 2, his office said.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[DAWN] A teenage student was killed and a passer-by 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 
[Al Jazeera] The leader of 
[DAWN] Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Saturday appointed PML-N's Raja Zafarul Haq leader of the opposition in the Upper House, according to a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat.
[DAWN] Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) has announced that it will begin a "decisive march" from Lahore to Islamabad on Wednesday, and will "stay on the streets until either the publication of blasphemous cartoons in the Netherlands end or the govt immediately ends diplomatic ties with the Dutch".
